


The Kids Are Alright

by stxrwxrs



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Christmas Party, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Mom Mercy, hinting at a crush, that's to come, they're not dating yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-08-13 03:16:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7960303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stxrwxrs/pseuds/stxrwxrs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the end, he's just an angsty teenager and she's trying to get into her dream school. Ten reasons why High School maybe isn't the worst after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Kids Are Alright

**Author's Note:**

> Hi friends!
> 
> I've been working on this forever and I don't really know how I feel about it, but I really wanted to share this AU because I've been working with my best friend to make it happen and we really love it :) 
> 
> Thank you for reading!

**I.**

 

She can’t help but stare.

 

  Maybe it’s the fact that he stumbles in every single day thirty minutes late, or that he never cares to take care of his wild, ever growing hair, or that she’s almost _positive_ that she saw him swipe a few test tubes full of chemical substances from the closet last week.

 

She can’t be blamed for staring, he’s literally a walking catastrophe.

 

 The tall, lanky, teen slips into the room at his usual time, just fifteen minutes shy of the bell. He takes his seat at the very back, closest to the lab kits. In all honesty, it’s no wonder why he actually shows up to chemistry.

 

 She’s observed over the past month that he doesn’t talk to anyone, doesn’t take out a single textbook, and has the worst habit of tapping his pencil rapidly against his desk in beat with his foot against the ground. Somedays she tries to catch a glimpse of what his journal looks like, as half his time in class is just him scribbling away hastily within its pages. The other half is sleeping.

 

Once the bell rings, he’s expelled from existence.

 

**I.V**

 

“Decided to join us after all, Mr. Fawkes?”

 

“Ain’t got nothin’ better to do.”

 

“Take your seat, please.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. I know the drill.”

 

II. 

She’s frantically copying every letter up above on the board. If she misses a single word, it could lead to a missed couple of test points.

 

“That’s why the reaction between sodium nitrate and iodine crystals is so big, because when the two-”

 

“Aqueous ammonia,” comes the quick yawn of the boy across the room.

 

Satya’s teacher stops, confused to what voice has just spoken up, “I’m sorry, what?”

 

 “Think again, mate, hate to cark your theory, but your little sodium crystal experiment won’t blow anythin’ but a fizzle, but, ey, aqueous ammonia, that’s the real stuff. That little bottle of love can detonate real well with iodine, making for a huge BOOM! Sodium won’t do nothin’, yeah?” He leans back in his desk after recreating the size of the explosion with his hands, smug little rat.

 

“Well... I don’t exactly-” his face is flushed and the entire class is suddenly very aware that the _delinquent_ sitting in the far back has the man cornered.

 

The boy shrugs, “science, mate, I reckon maybe you should brush up on it.”

 

 Satya presses her hand to her mouth to hide a shocked expression as the class itself explodes and the boy is doomed to the administration wing. He smiles the entire way out, she can almost hear a faint cry of laughter as the door hitches closed.

 

**II.V**

 

“What is it this time, Jamison?”

 

“Oi, Sammie, he really had it comin’ this time, I swear it on me mums life.”

 

“We’ve been over this before, Jamison, it is Mr. Samuels to you.”

 

“Eh- pass.”

 

“Your chemistry teacher filed a complain, insubordination in front of his class?”

 

“Insubordination, my arse. He was wrong, I was right.”

 

“Please…. just... _be less_.”

 

“Less what?”

 

“ _Less_.”

 

“Ey, anythin’ for you Ol’ Sammie.”

 

**III.**

 

His dark silhouette hugs the wall behind him, creating a perfect map of his hunched frame.

 

“Nerf this! I’m ready to take off whenever you two losers are, I swear this place gets worse every year,” Hana’s bright voice breaks the calm between the two upperclassmen standing in front of her.

 

“Wait,” Angela shifts her weight onto her other foot, “do you see that boy over there, the really skinny one in jeans?”

 

Satya and Hana both turn their attention to where the older girl stands pointing, the direction leading them both to the boy from Satya’s chemistry class. _Fawkes, isn’t it?_

 

“I’ve seen him around school and, I don’t think he has any friends, maybe we should ask him to join?”

 

Satya sighs and turns away from the sight of the boy, “he seems pretty weird, Angela. I would let it go.”

 

The smaller brunette gasps, “hey, we’re at an odd number for teams anyway!”

 

 Before the pair can turn back to the oldest member of the group, they realize she’s already across the floor and headed in the lanky figure’s direction. “Aw dang, she’s actually doing it,” Hana lets out a giggle and Satya bites down on her bottom lip.

 

*

 

Satya muses lightly over how the group ended up with not only the lanky limbed disaster, but also the tallest and widest kid in school crammed in their rented limousine.

 

“We really hate school functions,” Hana smiles happily at the two newcomers, “we always bail early at homecoming. It’s basically a tradition to skip out and go play laser tag or mini golf. You’re lucky, tonight we’re doing laser tag!”

 

The blonde let out a rough laugh, “blimey, didn’t peg you mob to be the rebellious type.”

 

Angela shrugged, “it’s really not that enjoyable anyway. So, you said your name was Jamie, yes?”

 

“Yeah, plain ‘ol me, not a special bloke.”

 

“Your accent is spectacular, where are you from?” Angela cocked her head to the side, a soft smile playing on her face.

 

He laughed again, this time sounding completely genuine, “s’not obvious, _sheila?”_  

 

“Australia, obviously,” Satya bites her cheek, knowing full well his attention is solely on her and he’s grinning rather proudly.

 

 Angela nods in awe and Lena pipes up, starting to ask him questions about certain slang words. The distraction pulls his stare away from Satya reluctantly.

 

**III.V**

 

“Hey, are you okay?”

 

“Wha?”

 

“You’re all alone over here.”

 

“Oi, I’m fine, heh, not a lot of people ‘ere fancy me.”

 

“Ah, well, you’re welcome to come join my group over there, we’re about to bail.”

 

“Hmph, why not?”

 

….

 

“Aye, can we grab that bloke over there too?”

 

**IV.**

 

He approaches her after class ends and Satya almost accidentally ignores him due to the loud hum of her mind deeply lost in thought.

 

“G’day!” Jamie’s smile almost reaches the crinkle in his eye as he steps in front of her.

 

She blinks a few times to regain a grasp on reality, “oh, hello, Jamison.”

 

He stares her down for a few seconds before cocking his head to the side, “don’t tell me, is it Sha-”

 

“Satya.”

 

“Oi, way to ruin the fun,” the blond chides lightly but the smile on his face contrasts his tone, “sorry ‘bout that, there’s a lot of you lot and only one of me, yeah?”

 

He laughs emptily, as if that was supposed to be a punchline to an extremely witty joke. Satya meets him with complete, awkward silence.

 

“Right, so, just wanted to give you and your people over there a lil’ word of gratitude for the other night, pass on it, will ya?” The look in his eyes makes her stomach drop.

 

Satya nods slowly, meeting his gaze for a brief moment, “it was no problem, I hope you enjoyed yourself.”

 

His laugh almost makes her jump, _he’s so loud_. “Good onya, Satya, you got a good thing goin’ there, ya know?” She softly smiles at the thought and he definitely notices.

 

And then it’s back to the blistering silence between them.

 

“Tell that gal, Ang for me, won’t ya?”

 

“Sure, I’ll let Angela know.”

 

 “Let me know what?” Angela pokes her head around the doorway before just about gliding into the near empty room. She shrugs at Satya’s curious expression,  “you were taking forever and Hana said you hung back to talk to Jamie, so I had to hurry over to catch you both. Jamie, a few of us pile into my van every now and then to get lunch, do you want to come with us?”

 

The boy shook his head and looked from one girl to the other, “what’re ya playing at?”

 

“Playing at?” Satya crosses her arms, “what are you talking about?”

 

“You and your good ‘ol buddies are bein’ awfully nice to a crooked bloke like myself.”

 

Angela laughs with a bob of her head as she put a hand on his shoulder, “no catch, Jamie. C’mon, it’s just me, Hana, and Satya today.”

 

“Right, then,” he slyly examines the two young women beside him before breaking out to a grin and taking off towards the parking lot, “shotgun!”

 

**IV.V**

 

“You need a ride home today, Jamie?”

 

“If you’ve got the heart for it, and the gas.”

 

“Totally covered, hop in.”

 

 

 

“Good day today?”

 

“Eh, could’ve been worse, I reckon.”

 

**V.**

 

 Somewhere along the way Angela had become the group mom, taking her younger friends home after school, reminding them to do their homework, making sure they weren’t feeling sick. She did it all.

 

She brought Jamie around a lot more too.

 

 Angela took him home most days, always letting him take the front seat. He had a pesky habit of singing or humming along with the car’s radio station, despite never having heard the song before. It drove Satya crazy, but made car rides much more interesting. Lucio at least appreciated having someone besides himself cover up Hana’s loud, off key voice.

 

**V.V**

 

 **“** Ey, any requests while we wait for Ang to head back?”

 

“I’m fine with the quiet, if it’s all the same to you.”

 

“Aw, c’mon Symmie, ya look like an eighties type of gal.”

 

“I believe I’ve asked you not to call me that, Jamison. Satya is perfectly acceptable.”

 

“Dexy’s Midnight Runners a ripper by you?”

 

“I don’t understand half the words that just came out of your mouth.”

 

 

*

 

“...I suppose I can deem this song adequate.”

 

“Hooley Dooley, that’s more like it!”

 

**VI.**

 

The room is dead quiet, which she appreciates more than anything, but something is off.

 

 Jamie’s seat is empty. Satya glances at the clock, they’re currently three quarters into class and the possible pyromaniac teen hadn’t burst into the classroom door yet. Jamison Fawkes was irresponsible on many levels, but he at least still made an appearance at school, even if it was brief.

 

The last quarter of class quickly flew by, which led Satya to Angela's locker. However, the blonde beat her to the question. 

 

“Have you heard from Jamie today?” The senior’s teeth bit down on her lip as her eyes shifted around the hallway expectantly.  

 

Satya tugged her books closer to her chest, “no, Jamison and I do not communicate closely. He was absent today and I have not seen him so far, in case you are looking for him.”

 

“He didn’t respond to any of my texts this morning, and when I went to pick him up he never showed. Mako doesn’t know anything about it either but he has a bad gut feeling,” Angela let out a sigh.

 

“Mako?”

 

 The blonde pointed to the large figure across the hall, “he’s that senior always hanging around Jamie, no idea where he could be.”

 

The two girls carried on in silence for a few moments before Angela softly clapped her hands together, “I’m worried about him. I’m going to go ask the counselor if he knows anything.”

 

Satya couldn’t help but roll her eyes, “Angela, this is not a big deal, he is old enough to take care of himself. I’m sure all will be okay by the end of class.”

 

“I really think something’s wrong, Satya.”

 

**VI.V**

 

“Miss Ziegler, it is not legal for me to release information about students to the public unless the legal guardian signs off on it.”

 

“I understand, but this is important. Please, we’re his friends.”

 

“That’s very sweet of you three to care but I’m afra-”

 

“We think something might of happened and we just want to check up on him.”

 

“I can assure you that Jamison is perfectly okay minus a few bruises.”

 

“Bruises?”

 

“That’s it, I’m going to go check his house again.”

 

“Miss Ziegler, Miss Vaswani- please settle down- alright, alright. It is nice to see some positine influences in Mr. Fawkes’ life. Jamison has been suspended for the rest of the week due to unprofessional behavior.”

 

"Unprofessional behavior? You can't suspend him for that, that's like his entire personality- okay, well. Thank you." 

 

**VII.**

 

“Do you think his bruises are very bad?” Satya’s gaze fell on the trees quickly passing along the road, but her mind was far elsewhere.

 

“If they are, I can help patch him up,” Angela let go off a drawn out breath as she pulled her car onto the Australian’s street.

 

The surroundings caught Satya’s attention and she turned to the woman sitting next to her, “Jamie lives in a mobile home?”

 

The older boy sitting the seat behind them grunted a reply, as if saying ‘yes’ to her question.

 

“It’s this one,” Angela’s tone was somber and she took a deep breath in before putting the car in park.

 

 Satya took the little vehicular house in, it was narrow and thin, which meant Jamie’s family probably shared one room of living space. A few trash bags littered the dead grass surrounding the front lawn. The brunette found herself inhaling a deep breath in to avoid taking in too much of the smell.

 

Angela marched straight up to the front door and began knocking, Satya standing directly behind her, while Mako trailed off around the mobile home and suddenly disappeared.

 

“I wonder where he’s off to,” the blonde’s frown curved and she quickly took after him.

 

 Mako led her around the house to a makeshift garage, where a very scrappy motorcycle barely stood. A few sparks flew out from behind the piece of work until Mako’s loud grumble caused a very confused Jamie to pop up.

 

 “Roadie!” The boy’s face lit up, as well as his hair before he patted the small flames out, “Good to see ya. You wanna come give this sheila here a go?” He paused, presumably listening to the giant, “What? Angie and Symmie too?”

 

“I told him not to call me that-” Satya hissed from her spot peering around the wood fence next to Angela.

 

Jamie jumped up from the home made motor and laughed giddily, “come in guys! OH- come check this out! I’ve been working on this darl here for a tick.

 

The two other girls approached, Angela looking excitedly at the boy’s work while Satya inspected a little closer.

 

“Is this what you're doing when you're late to class? Is that why they suspended you?” her tone comes across much more blunt than she probably meant to, but she didn't let that stop her.

 

 Jamie let out a nervous laugh before shaking his head, “nah, picked a fight too many. Told me I had to stop that, Roadie here did. Ya know the guy, though.” Mako turned away from Jamie and towards his motorcycle with a subtle “hmph” before Jamie continued.

  
 “Guy keeps trying to boss me ‘round, hate it. Got all snippy and touchy when I insulted his friend, took a swing so I swung back; school didn’t like it, I guess,” he shrugged before pulling out a wrench and tossing it to Mako, who was now fully taking over work on the bike.

 

“Jamie, you can’t do things like that,” Angela shook her head, “are you alright? Any concussions?”

 

 The teen knocked a fist sarcastically against his head, “think so, no black spots or broken bones. But ‘ey, doesn’t really matter, don’t like any of those classes anyways. Gives me more time to work on her over there!”

 

“Did you build that yourself?” Satya focuses back on the bike, which has to admit, is a bit impressive. She can appreciate a well executed model. 

 

“Yeah, that’s my girl, built ‘er from the ground up. Thank for noticin’ Symmie,” he smiles directly at her and it sends a chill down the base of her spine.

 

“Don’t call m-”

 

 “Right, right, sorry, Sym- Satya. Oi, that’s a tongue twister there, yeah? Hah, well, aren’t you lot missing a test or somethin’?” the boy rocks himself onto the tips of his toes and back, keeping his gaze on Satya.

 

The senior ignores Satya’s pleading expression as she replies, “it’s alright, we only have two classes left anyway. We just wanted to come check up on you.”

 

Satya was perfectly fine with keeping her thoughts to herself until her felt Angela’s quick pat on her back, “um, I finished my homework already, too. It’s fine,” she let out a slightly frustrated sigh.

 

“ **Ey** , this is a part from _my_ motorcycle,” Mako’s deep voice cuts through their conversation, none of them even noticing when he had lumbered up to them.

 

 Jamie’s focus quickly shifts from the two girls to his best friend as he opens his mouth, “ah, well. Mighta, mighta nicked it. Just needed to compare it, you can, uh, have it back now, buddy.” He forces a smile until Mako nods in response and turns away, stomping back to the garage.

 

“Angela, can I talk to you real quick?” Satya lowers to her voice and beings walking a few paces away from the Australian teen, her older friend close behind.

 

Once out of earshot, Satya’s tone completely morphs into a bitter exhaustion, “what’re you thinking?”

 

“What?” Angela laughs, trying to mask her confusion. Is she joking?

 

 “Why’re you doing all this for him? He does not need help, he causes all this trouble himself. It’s his fault and you do not have to look after him,” her words flood out of her mouth all too quickly, as if she had broken a dam.

 

 Angela’s expression twists, like she had just taken a bite out of a lemon, “Satya, he doesn’t need help, he needs a friend. You’ve given him no benefit of the doubt for the last few weeks and it’s wrong. Why can’t you give him a chance just like the one we gave you? Think about it.”

 

The brunette says nothing as she takes a step back, looking back to where the two boys now sit in front of the bike, tinkering away.

 

“I’m going to go wait by the car.”

 

**VII.V**

 

“She’ll come around.”

 

“Eh, no trouble with ‘er. She’s right after all, I don’t why you lot still hang ‘round ‘ere. Hah, ‘cept him. Put a motorcycle in front of him and he’ll never leave. Right mate?”

 

“I’m glad you two have each other.”

 

“Yeah, been that way since we were little ankle-biters. Traded him half me lunch to keep the big kids away. But really, shouldn’t you be back at school or something? Trust me, that principal can throw a real fit, y’know? Haha, turns all purple and red and-”

 

“Satya, nice of you to join us.”

 

“The final bell just rang, so I figured I might as well.”

 

“‘Preciate that.”

 

“Would you mind showing me how you constructed your bike?”

 

“‘Course not! Come on over, sheila! You too, Ang!”

 

**VIII.**

 

The rain hits the pavement with beautiful patterns that have been the subject of her attention for the last few minutes.

 

“Don’t have a whole lot of this weather where I come from,” he laughs to himself, though she assumes he still wants a reply from her.

 

Satya decides to humor him, “oh?”

 

“That means I gotta ‘preciate it when we get it, you interested?” she thinks he’s probably thrown his head back, but his head is blocked from her vision by her umbrella.

 

“What are you referring to?” Satya clings onto the rig.

 

Jamie is suddenly leaping from the curb to the street in front of them, “c’mon Satya! Don’t tell me you’ve never gone dancin’ in the rain before!”

 

“I- I guess not,” the woman waves a hand out in front of her to catch a few droplets.

 

The Australian boy flashed her a bright (albeit, a bit gold) smile, his hand extending to her welcomingly. Satya’s stomach drops, he's expecting her to join him.

 

“C’mon, don’t be shy, I don’t bite, well- not that much,” his grin reaches into his eyes.

 

 “I guess it couldn’t hurt until Angela gets here,” she slowly slips her hand into his, the first close contact she’d ever had with him. His skin is rough, his palms strong, callouses anointing every crevice.

 

He pulls her out beside him, her umbrella still hanging high above her. “You gotta trust me, darl,” he motions to her canopy.

 

“Um- I don’t-” Satya slowly lowers her umbrella, and Jamie wastes no time discarding it back to the curb as he whirls her around. “It’s wet!” she cries.

 

“It’s rain!” He pulls her around him, her figure orbiting his amidst the falling droplets.

 

Jamie takes both her hands in his, planting his feet deep against the cement. He instructs her to spin, which she meets hesitantly before starting to pick up momentum.

 

 Her screams of laughter almost cause him to lose his balance, it's a sound he never thought he would hear. On the flip side, Satya can’t tell if she’s genuinely having fun or so uncomfortable that she just doesn’t know how to react.

 

“I haven’t done this since I was a kid!” she turns her head to look up at the sky.

 

Jamie slows her down, letting go of her hands to give her some space. “Ya like that, huh?” He smiles at her.

 

“It was more enjoyable than I had predicted,” she lets out a small noise of amusement before stepping into a puddle nestled against the curb.

 

Jamie can’t help the grin that comes from the satisfaction of jumping into a puddle of his own.

 

They stay like that until bright headlights catch them in the act.

 

**VIII.V**

 

“Any reason why you two were soaking wet when I picked you up?”

 

“Nah, Ang, just wanted to show Saya a little fun. Poor gal looked like she needed it.”

 

“And she let you?”

 

“Maybe you were right, Angie, she’s comin’ around.”

 

**IX**

 

Class went by in a haze, she didn’t pay a single ounce of attention.

 

“If you will divide yourself into pairs…”

 

 He was at her desk by the time their teacher could finish.

 

Over the course of the last few weeks, he had moved seats to be closer, and closer, and closer to her. And the more they spent time together, the less she cared.

 

In all honesty, he wasn’t a bad guy by her standards, or, at least some of them. Jamie was rough around the edges, but Angela was right, he needed a friend, and when she had first moved here, she had too.

 

Something drew him to her, it’s like the literal sun pumped blood through her veins. He did like that shade of blue she always wore, maybe that was it.

 

**IX.V**

 

“Oi, Saya, where’d you come from anyway?”

 

“My family has moved around quite a lot since as long as I can remember. I don’t think there’s ever been a place I have ever considered as home.”

 

 **“** Yeah, I know what that’s like. With all those suits runnin’ around tryin’ to get their bloody full, we had to up and leave good ol’ Aussie Land. Shame those big corps still find a way to worm their way into town here too, yeah?”

 

“The Omnica Corporation? They ran your family out of Australia?”

 

“Ma and Pa Stores don’t survive those kinda blows, darl.”

 

“I’m sorry to hear about that, Jamison.”

 

“Ya can just call me Jamie, love.”

 

“Noted.”

 

**X**

 

It’s been three months since homecoming.

 

“Merry Christmas!” Hana squeals as she pops out from the middle of Angela’s family Christmas tree.

 

“What’re you doing in there?” Lucio laughs before pushing her back in.

 

 The group has gathered in the Ziegler family living room, which is surprisingly big enough to host the gang, everyone buzzing with excitement over their soon-to-be-revealed secret santa.

 

 Mako stands above everyone else, stringing tinsel through the rafters decorating the ceiling, Angela’s busy in the kitchen pouring glasses of hot chocolate, Satya, Lena, and Pharah have all taken on the task of decorating cookies, which doubles as protecting them from Jamie, Jesse, and Jack’s prying hands.

 

“How much longer, Angela? We’re dying over here,” Hana whines as she picks up the gift addressed to her and give it a shake.

 

“Hana, stop that! Once everyone is done we can start opening presents. Go see if Lena can use your-”

 

Lena’s head quickly popped out from the dining room, “uh, no thanks love, we’re good.”

 

“Hey!” Hana crossed her arms over her chest while Jamie laughed, taking a spot beside her.

 

“Oi, they won’t let me get me mitts on anything either,” he winked.

 

“If you two are so impatient, perhaps we should add another hour to teach you a few virtues,” Satya teased.

 

“No!” both Jamie and Hana exclaimed, causing a few laughs to be shared amongst the crowd.

 

Angela put her hands up in surrender, “alright, fine, _underclassmen_ , we can go ahead and start if everyone else is okay with it. Mako, you’re dressed for the part, do you mind playing santa?”

 

“There ya go, you big lug! Good ol’ Santie Claus!” Jamie took a spot on the couch next to Satya, which she accepted with a nod to him. His smile couldn’t lit up the room.

 

 The Australian teen’s excitement made everything before his reveal a blur, he swore he heard that Hana was Mako’s santa, Angela was Lena’s, Mako was Lena’s, Pharah was Hana’s, and after that he got lost.

 

All the buzz died down as Satya opened a small, pale brown box that held a silver chain and platinum pendant crushed to form a not-even-near-perfect circle with an indention in the middle.

 

_‘Saya’_

 

“Oh my goodness,” the brunette reached into the box and pulled out the necklace, “Jamie?” she turned towards the figure beside her who chuckled excitedly.

 

“I used some metal I found from the day you and Angie and Roadie swung ‘round. I guess that’s the day we became friends, yeah?”

 

 Satya pressed a hand over her mouth, “it’s great, I love it, thank you, Jamie.” If she was a hugging person (like he was), she’d pull him into an embrace almost as tight as one of Lena’s, but instead she put a hand on his shoulder and met his eyes with a smile

 

“Jolly holiday, Saya,” he grinned.

 

**X.V**

 

“You got Satya? Pft! Good luck on that one.”

 

“Ya little dingo, help me!”

 

“She’s just really weird about gifts, like, feels weird about accepting things like that from people.”

 

“Well then, you’re a girl, what do I get her?”

 

“Satya and I are nothing alike, you’re on your own!”

 

“Thank for nothin’, Han.”

 

“Just get her something cheap? I don’t know.”

 

"She's special." 

 

"Yikes." 

 

"Yeah."

 

**_end, semester one._ **

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment or kudos if you enjoyed this! I'll have the next ten out hopefully soon :)


End file.
